EU turns down UPS acquisition of TNT

BRUSSELS – The European Union has confirmed its rejection of a $6.9 billion deal for UPS to acquire Dutch delivery company TNT Express — two weeks after the U.S. company pulled out of the venture because of EU objections.

Antitrust Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Wednesday that European businesses “would have been directly harmed” by the takeover “because it would have drastically reduced choice between providers and probably led to price increases.”

UPS had offered in March to buy TNT, Europe’s second-largest delivery company, to better compete with Europe’s largest, Deutsche Post’s DHL. UPS said that it had proposed “tangible remedies” but Almunia said they were “simply not enough.”